


The Benefits of Sleep Walking

by DrayOakenshield



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Post-Battle of Five Armies, Romantic Fluff, slight crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 21:06:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13108524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrayOakenshield/pseuds/DrayOakenshield
Summary: Erebor is reclaimed, everyone's alive, and Bilbo sleepwalks.





	The Benefits of Sleep Walking

**Author's Note:**

> I needed a break from Loving a Dwarrow and this bit of fluff is what came of that break.

Bilbo had a tendency to wander in his sleep, everyone in the company knew this except apparently Bilbo himself. When they were still on the road whoever was on guard always situated themselves where they could keep watch over anything that may approach the camp as well as the wandering hobbit so they could steer him back to his bedroll before anything happened. Not every night but still fairly frequently the guard would have to maneuver across the sleeping pile of dwarrow and snag the hobbit gently by the arm and coax him back to his own spot at the edge of the pile where he would easily lay back down and go back to sleep as if nothing had happened.

Now they were back in Erebor where not quite a week before a fierce battle had raged on the plains before the mountain and they had come out victorious with no losses among the company that had traveled so far together. The prior week had been spent in a flurry of cleaning and preparing the mountain city for people to move in to weather out the winter. While Thorin and his nephews were lying in a healing tent recovering from their various nearly deadly injuries the company had set to work cleaning out one of the royal wings for themselves and the royals so at night when they collapsed into their cots Bilbo barely twitched a muscle between when he went to sleep and when he was roused for breakfast the next morning. 

With the lack of nighttime wanderings the company assumed Bilbo’s sleepwalking was only because he did not have four walls around him and chose to cease the careful watching once they moved into the wing they had cleared. So at the end of the week Kili and Fili were carried into their new rooms and settled in to finish healing, with Bilbo in the rooms next door to keep an eye on them, Thorin was able to walk mostly under his own power into his own suite at the end of the hall on the other side of Bilbo and Dwalin was on the other side of him. Each of the three family units had taken a set of rooms designed for a small family across the large sitting room from the single rooms the Durin's, Dwalin, and Bilbo had claimed. They were all quite content to be sharing a wing yet still have their own space again after spending so long in constant contact with each other.

The night everyone moved into their wing Bilbo was more restless than he had been since they had been on the road. He was nervous about how Thorin would fare being so close to the gold that had nearly claimed his mind before the battle, he was worried about Fili and Kili not having a healer close by in case something happened in the night, and most of all he was terrified about the nightmares that had been suspiciously absent after the battle. He had been working himself extra hard so he wouldn’t be doing anything but sleeping all week but even with moving everyone into their wing today had been a very relaxed day so he wasn’t as tired as he had been and he knew that couldn’t bode well for his dreams this night. Well after everyone had said their goodnights and retreated to their own spaces he was still sitting in the main area sipping on a mug of tea and staring into the fire trying not to think of a certain raven-haired dwarf asleep down the hall. Once the mug was drained he sighed and set it aside to go to bed, he couldn’t avoid sleep forever after all. Stripping down to his small clothes he climbed into his covers with a contented sigh and let sleep claim him, holding onto a slim hope that he wouldn’t have any night terrors loud enough to wake the people sleeping on either side of his room.

In the wee hours of the morning Thorin blearily opened his eyes to see who was coming into his chambers. When he saw the small form of the hobbit creeping toward his bed he smiled and lifted the coverlet to invite him to join Thorin in the large bed. Bilbo didn’t say a word as he slid into the bed and curled into Thorin’s chest with a happy sigh. Thorin had had feelings for the smaller man since before he would like to admit but he had been nervous to tell him before the mountain was reclaimed, fearing that even the smallest thing could send him scampering back to the shire before their job was done. Though it wasn’t an overt declaration of feelings it was a small step in the right direction and Thorin would happily accept what was offered, smiling he wrapped his arms around the hobbit and pulled him closer before drifting back to sleep.

Late the next morning Bilbo slowly woke up, he was warmer than he had been in months and he didn’t recall having a single nightmare last night which surprised him. He was enjoying the nest of warmth he was in and didn’t want to go out and face the company’s bustling energy yet. Shifting to snuggle deeper and maybe get a bit more sleep he gasped in surprise when an arm snaked around his middle and pulled him tight against the owner of that arm.

“No moving burglar. It’s too early for moving.” an all too familiar voice rumbled in his ear.

Bilbo’s eyes snapped open and he turned his head to look at the source of the voice. When he saw who was treating him like a giant teddy bear all he could do was squeak a name.“Thorin?!”

Thorin opened one eye with an amused smirk. “That would be my name yes.”

“Not to be rude but why exactly are you in my bed?” Bilbo asked, blushing slightly at the fact that he was indeed sharing a bed with Thorin.

Bilbo’s question surprised a chuckle from Thorin. “You are in my bed burglar. You came creeping in long after everyone had gone to bed and made yourself right at home with my arm as your pillow.”

At that statement Bilbo blushed to the very tips of his ears. “I don’t remember doing that. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to intrude, I’ll just see myself out.”

Thorin just clutched Bilbo tighter. “Please don’t unless you really want to. I’ve wanted to wake up like this since the carrock but I didn’t want to scare you back to the Shire. I thought that you letting yourself into my room in the wee hours of the morning meant you felt the same.”

Seeing as he couldn’t leave (and didn’t really want to anyway) all Bilbo could think to do was squeak again and yank the blankets up over his face in an attempt to hide the blush that was still present on his face.

“Seeing as you aren’t running for the door I’m going to take that as a sign that you feel the same. And since that is the case I’m going to pry that blanket from your face and kiss you now. Please stop me if that is too forward.” Thorin declared softly. When he didn’t hear any argument from Bilbo he used the hand attached to the arm that was currently being used as a pillow to push the blankets down off of Bilbo’s face. Once the hobbits lips were revealed Thorin leaned forward and captured them in a tender kiss.

“I’ve dreamed about waking up next to you since the night you seduced me out of my smial with your singing, please tell me this isn’t another dream?” Bilbo whispered as their lips broke apart.

Thorin chucked again. “Not a dream at all. I assume that since this whole wing is guarded the company decided you didn’t need someone watching your door to steer you back to bed so when you took a midnight stroll in your sleep no one was there to catch you and you came here.”

“I don’t sleepwalk!” Bilbo declared indignantly.

“You have as long as you’ve been traveling with us, not every night but frequent enough that everyone on guard rotation knew the routine to get you back to your spot with minimal fuss. Which makes me wonder if you would have wound up in my bedroll much sooner if we hadn’t kept putting you back to bed on the road.” Thorin teased. 

“I’m sorry that I was so much extra work for you guys on the road. I never slept walked before that I know of, or if I did I always wound back up in my own bed somehow.” Bilbo said sheepishly.

“We didn’t mind, it kept the watch alert. Now enough about your nighttime wanderings, I’d quite like to kiss you again if you are agreeable to that idea.” Thorin said as way of asking permission

Bilbo smiled and leaned in to capture Thorin’s lips with his own instead of answering verbally. If this was truly happening then he was going to make the most of it before Thorin came to his senses and kicked him out, because after all why would a newly rethroned king want a simple hobbit as his consort.

After a few delicious moments of tender kisses and fingertips mapping each others faces Thorin pulled back with a smile. “My pack was brought here from where we had camp previously correct?”

“I believe Dwalin put it in the wardrobe in the corner by the door, would you like me to get it?” Bilbo said gesturing vaguely behind him.

“I can find it. If I turn my back you won't come to your senses and run away right?” Thorin teased as he carefully rolled out of bed and made his way around the bed over to the wardrobe Bilbo had indicated.

“I think you're fairly well stuck with me now.” Bilbo remark dryly as he rolled over to face correct direction and made himself comfortable with an actual pillow in lieu of the arm Thorin had reclaimed.

After a few moments of quiet rustling in the wardrobe Thorin resurfaced with a triumphant grin, something small clutched tight in his hand. Ambling over to the bed he crawled back in to lie next to Bilbo, still hiding something in his hand. “I wish to ask you something very serious. Not quite marriage serious but serious nonetheless, before I ask I am giving you one more chance to leave and pretend this never happened.”

Bilbo’s heart fluttered at the idea of marriage to the man in front of him, even though they weren’t there yet he hoped someday down the road they could have a chance to explore the idea and possibly make it a reality. Until that was an option, however, he was going to take whatever Thorin would offer him. Placing a hand on Thorin's chest right over his heart Bilbo looked at him with affection in his eyes, “I’m not going to leave your side for as long as you want me there. What would you like to ask me?”

Thorin's stomach was suddenly tied in knots with nerves. Before the gold sickness had claimed him he had found his old rooms miraculously undisturbed, possibly because of how far from the main areas they were. Inside in a dusty corner of the bedroom was a chest full of items he had made for his eventual partner, including a promise ring and a courtship bead which he had tucked away in his pack hoping he would get a chance to offer them to Bilbo after everything was settled. He hadn’t thought that offer would come in circumstances like this but he was happy with the way things felt and wanted to take the chance. Taking a breath to ground himself Thorin started to speak, “While I won’t call what I feel for you love just yet I think it has a chance of becoming that. I want to spend the time it takes for it to get there while we explore our relationship more and learn about each other outside of traveling and war times. I can very easily see a future with you by my side, you are incredibly brave and loyal to those you care about which are both excellent qualities for a prince consort. I would be honored to be given the chance to court you as is befitting a dwarrow. As proof of my offer I present you two items, a traditional dwarrow courting bead and a promise ring bearing the crest of Durin. Neither indicates marriage, just that we are in a consideration period that may lead to an engagement and eventually a marriage. Will you do me the honor of wearing these items that I crafted with my own hands?”

When he saw the delicate silver ornaments in Thorin’s palm he gasped slightly. “Thorin those are stunning! I would be honored to wear them and build a relationship with you.”

Thorin beamed at him and took the hand that was still on his chest in his own to slip the ring into place on his finger, it fit as if he had made it with Bilbo’s measurements in mind even though the hobbit wasn’t even alive when it was forged. “I think this is Mahal’s way of saying you were carved from the stone for me. You weren’t even alive when this was forged but it fits as if it was made for you.”

Bilbo kissed Thorin gently after the ring was in place. “I think you might be right. When I opened my door all those months ago to see you standing on the other side of it something clicked inside me and when I heard you sing I knew I would follow you to the ends of middle earth if you asked it of me.”

Thorin gave him a wry smile. “By that point I had already asked you to do that and you had turned me down.”

“Yes well, I came to my senses before it was too late and look where we are now.” Bilbo pointed out.

“Right where you belong.” Thorin agreed, pulling Bilbo back into his chest with a happy sigh.

Apparently they drifted back to sleep because they were suddenly jerked awake by Dwalin slamming Thorin’s door open. “Sorry to disturb you Thorin but I thought you would want to know Bilbo is missing.”

Thorin snickered and rolled onto his back to reveal the small hobbit he was curled around. “Our hobbit decided to sleepwalk into my bed last night.”

“So I take it we aren’t keeping this quiet then? Well, that’s good, even if they will think we’ve already slept together..” Bilbo piped up before smiling at Dwalin. “Good morning! Did we miss breakfast?”

Dwalin stared at them with an astounded look for a moment. “No, I will have Bofur bring some in. Sorry again to disturb you.” And with that, he turned on his heel and shut the door behind him leaving the pair in the bed laughing merrily.


End file.
